How to support the operationalization of life cycle thinking across education, digital tools, and companies using a feedback-based approach
Doktorand: Fabian Kastner
Zweitbetreuung: Prof. Dr. Guillaume Habert, Chair of Sustainable Construction, ETH Zurich
Sustainable practices in the built environment have not yet reached the mainstream. Transitioning to sustainable practices demands long-term perspectives. Long-term perspectives may be operationalized through life cycle thinking (LCT). To this end, the scope of life cycle-oriented use cases has widened. However, although LCT offers a well-founded set of concepts, methods, and tools for various contexts, its operationalization concerning the built environment remains limited.
In the context of future reflective professional practice in the built environment, a gap between academia and practice might hinder advancing long-term thinking. Aiming to support the broader deployment of long-term thinking, processes in both domains, academia, and built environment practice, are considered. Digital mediation is added as a third relevant aspect in between. Accordingly, this thesis examines the operationalization of LCT as a common rationale across the following selected contexts: architecture education, digital tools, and construction companies. The impacts of operationalizing LCT within these contexts are examined using a multi-case study research design inclduing the following feedback mechanisms: curriculum mapping, playtesting in transdisciplinary tool development, and companies’ trends in environmental impacts.
The findings present opportunities and limitations of operationalizing life cycle thinking as a common element across academia and practice. Potential future research toward anchoring long-term perspectives is discussed.